Lean, Mean Rodent Shredding Paper Machine

This is one of those "new to me" inventions that I just stumbled on now (apparently almost one year after everyone else on the internet) -- and yes, there's a hamster in there.

I'm not sure how I missed it the first time around but it made me laugh, so maybe there are a few other people out there who will find this discovery equally as "new," and funny to boot.

A Greenwala community member recently just asked about eco-friendly alternatives to a conventional paper shredder and I was somewhat stumped before...but now, I can see the light.

This hamster powered paper shredder should do the trick, and it will keep your insanely adorable fur balls in fighting shape, too.

All you need to do to convert one 9 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper into mass of shredded pulp is to feed your page into the top of the unit.

Then, get your hamster amped about running in circles because it's going to take him or her 45 minutes of non-stop aerobic exercise in order to obliterate all sensitive document details.

The shredding device is powered via the exercise wheel so, quite conveniently, a fresh mountain of nesting material will be created thanks to their sweat equity.

Created by 29-year-old London design consultant Tom Ballhatchet, it may seem like a somewhat sadistic device (can a hamster even exercise for close to one hour without rejuvenating its energy via a 32 ounce sports drink and a 6 pack of baby carrots?) but on the bright side, you'll never have to worry about your pet developing diabetes.

Ballhatchet created this conversation starter (and rodent ender) in an effort to address the issue of climate change (and apparently recycling), and now the lucky devil is chatting with several companies regarding the development of a prototype that will ultimately be taken into fullscale production.

Poor little hamsters of the world, you don't even have a clue what's in store for you.